HEBREWS - CHAPTER 1
Verses 1-3
v1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors. He did this through the prophets at many times and in various ways. v2 But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. He appointed his Son to be the owner of all things. It was by him that God created everything in space and time. v3 From the Son the honor of God shines like a bright light. He is really God and he shows us what God is like. It is the Son who maintains all things in their proper place by his powerful word. The Son gave his own life to make us clean from all our sins. After this he sat down at the right hand of God in heaven.
Commentary
Verse 1
God often spoke to the Hebrews in the past. He spoke to them in different ways. God gave them dreams, sent angels to bring His words, and used events to teach His people. He gave them his laws and taught them by the prophets. He spoke through all kinds of men and women. For example, God called Moses from a burning bush (Exodus 3). Elijah the prophet, who ran away from an angry queen, heard God in a whisper (1 Kings 19:12). Isaiah heard God’s voice when he saw him sitting high above all as king (Isaiah 6:1-8).
God did not speak all the time, and He did not show what He was really like at any one time. He chose certain men and women to show them something of Himself to pass on to us. God spoke to these people a long time ago and what He showed to them is in the Old Testament.
Verse 2
The phrase "in the last days" often meant the time of the Messiah. The writer uses it here to show that the Messiah has come. The Hebrews were always expecting this person to come. He will bring a new age to them. He will be their king and he will overcome all their enemies. The Hebrews did not understand the real nature of the Messiah. He is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The time had come for Jesus to do His work on earth. In the past, God told people something about Himself. But now He has spoken in Jesus. He shows us what God is really like. God’s Son Jesus became a human being to show God to us. Jesus is just like God and so we can know God. What God had shown in the past prepared the way for Jesus and what He would say and do.
The writer gives 7 facts to show how great God’s Son Jesus is:
1. God appointed His Son to own everything.
2. God created all that there is in space and time by His Son.
3. The Son shines with God’s light.
4. The Son shows us what God is like. When we come to know Jesus, then we also come to know God. Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:19), and "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). God is the Father.
5. The Son Jesus maintains all things (Colossians 1:17). Having made the worlds and all things, Jesus Christ is still in control of them. His word of power maintains all things in their proper place. He has control of time and directs the future. He will cause all things to complete his plan. He made all things and He owns all things in heaven and on earth.
6. The Son Jesus gave His life to make us clean from all sin. God is so holy that nothing that is wrong can live with Him. Jesus the Son of God came and was a perfect human being. At the same time, He was God in a human body. Jesus had two purposes in coming into this world as a human being. The first was to show us what God is like. The second was to take away all our sins and accepted the punishment for them by dying on the cross. In that way, Jesus makes us fit to live with God.
7. Jesus the Son is now at God’s right hand back in heaven. The right hand is a picture of the place of greatest honor. Now Jesus is the ruler over all of creation.
Verses 4-5
v4 By what he has done, the Son of God is much greater than the angels. God has also given to him a name that is greater than theirs. v5 God did not tell any of the angels, "You are my Son; today I have given you the honor that belongs to someone with that name." Again, he did not say about any angel, "I will be his father, and he will be my son."
Commentary
Verse 4
Angels were very important to the Hebrews. They are powerful agents of God. It was by them that God spoke of Himself in the old times. The Hebrews believed that the law from God came from angels. When Jesus came into this world, He became for a little time lower than the angels. As a human being, Jesus was the Son of God. God gave His name great honor when He raised Him from the dead. In this, Jesus is superior to the angels. They have never become sons of God. They could not show us God as Jesus has done. They could not take our sins away and make us clean as Jesus did. God gave Jesus a better name than He has given to angels. Jesus alone was the Son of God.
Verse 5
The Hebrews knew that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the person whom they were expecting to come. So the author shows that Jesus is superior to angels by using 7 verses from the Old Testament. God did not call any angel His son. In Psalm 2, God tells the Messiah, "You are my son." He adds, "Today I have given you the honor that belongs to someone with that name."
The Old Testament says, "I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me." God spoke these words about king David's son Solomon (1 Chronicles 17:13-14). To the Hebrews, Solomon was a picture of the special king who was coming one day. This special king would be from the family of David. He would always be king. So the Hebrews took these words to mean that God will be the Father of the Messiah. Jesus came as the Messiah and God is His Father. God never said that he would be the Father of an angel. As Jesus is the Son of God, He is superior to the angels.
Verses 6-9
v6 Again, when God brings his firstborn Son into the world, he says "Let all the angels of God worship him." v7 He says about the angels, "He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire." v8 About the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for all time and always. You will rule your kingdom in ways that are always right. v9 You have loved what is right and hated what is evil. That is why God, your God, has chosen you. He has given to you more joy than he has given to anyone else."
Commentary
Verse 6
There are two possible meanings for "again."
• The time when Jesus will come again to the earth. Then He will set up his government in the world.
• The time when God made Jesus king after He brought Him back alive from the dead.
Jesus is God’s firstborn because He is God’s only Son and because He was first to come alive again from the dead. When God brings his firstborn into the world, He tells all His angels to honor and praise Jesus. This shows that Jesus is as much superior to the angels as God is.
Verses 7-8
God then speaks about the angels. He says that He created His angels to be like winds and flames. They are quick and powerful to do what God sends them to do. But God did not create Jesus. When the Father is speaking about His Son Jesus, He calls Him God. He says that His throne is forever. God is saying that Jesus is the same as He is. Jesus will rule His kingdom in ways that are always right and good.
Verse 9
Jesus loves what is right. He hates all that is evil. In his life on the earth, He always did what was right. He taught what was right. He told of the punishment that is coming on all that is evil. That is why God chose Him and made Him to be Lord over all. God has given Him great joy and made Him glad.
Verses 10-12
v10 He also says about the Son, "Lord, you made the earth in the beginning. The skies are the work of your hands. v11 The skies and the earth will come to an end, but you live forever. They will all wear out like clothes. v12 You will roll them up like a coat and change them like clothes. But you remain the same, and your life will never end."
Commentary
Verses 10-12
The author now uses another part of the Old Testament (Psalm 102:25-27). The writer of the Psalm was speaking to God. The writer to the Hebrews uses those verses as speaking of Jesus because He is God. There are here 3 statements about Jesus the Son of God.
1. The Son of God makes all things. He made the heavens and the earth.
2. He is the ruler of all things. He will cause things to change. One day He will bring them to an end.
3. He will remain the same. He will never be any different from what He is now. All else will change, but Jesus Christ will always be the same.
Verses 13-14
v13 God never said to any of the angels, "Sit at my right hand. Sit there until I make your enemies a place to rest your feet." v14 All the angels are spirits who work for God. He sends them to help those to whom he will give salvation.
Commentary
Verse 13
God the Father has said to God the Son, "Sit at my right hand while I make all your enemies a place to rest your feet’ (Psalm 110:1). God did not say these things to any angel. Angels stand before God as His servants. Jesus now sits with God, and so is much greater than the angels. This means that Jesus is equal to God. He always was equal to God before He came to earth. Now as a human being He again sits in His place next to God. That is the most powerful place that there is. Jesus still has lots of enemies, but with God He will overcome them all. In the old days, the soldier who won a battle put his feet on the neck of the defeated king (Joshua 10:24). This is the picture of the enemies as a place to rest his feet. Jesus will be the master of all.
Verse 14
Angels do not rule. Their task is to serve. They are servants of God. God also sends them to help the people who trust in Jesus. Believers are those who accept salvation. They will one day live in heaven with God.
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